Aw, my Frose went back to being Rose - 2019 Food and Wine Adventure! RL Update 4/22!

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Ha! At least it was your mom and not a stranger.

Haha, true!

These look amazing!

This also looks really tasty. I am impressed with the food for this!

Wow! All 3 of those pops looked amazing as well!

All the food at this even was great, although I personally found the steak to be the best. I really want to do this event again, there were a handful of food items we missed that I want to try still!

You also look a little extra happy! A good night!

HA! Yeah, we really took advantage of the open bar at this one!

I saw them do this with TSM at rope drop one morning. Literally as we were walking into the standby que at 9:00 am on the dot they upped the time to 90 mintures but we walked through in 10. But I am sure by the time the masses got to the ride it would be that.

Wow! I guess they really try to deter people from getting in line!

 

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Always love your reports! I've only read through Epcot Forever and will come back later to catch up. I also saw the premiere and had VERY similar thoughts. I loved Illuminations so much it is possibly I was predisposed to not like anything that wasn't Illuminations. But it just doesn't have the same feel. I miss the blowing out of the torches. I miss the music. And I HATE the kids singing and the mishmash of songs. It just seems (to me) that the spirit of EPCOT Center was lost. On the bright side, however, my dinner possibilities have busted wide open since in the past I've always tried for a minimum of 2-3 dinners per trip in World Showcase to see Illuminations and now I don't need to do that.

Aw, thank you so much! And !

Yeah, Epcot Forever definitely did not live up to Illuminations. I finally brought myself to watch it again online, and it is a lot better in person than online, but still doesn't live up!

One thing I really miss is the playing of tapestry of nations as people were exiting the park. I get that a snippet of it was in the show, but I wanted more! I loved hanging out after Illuminations waiting for the crowds to die down and hearing that music. Now the music they play after the show is just meh.

 

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I always enjoy your reports, so I'm glad I found this! Glad to see your mom is doing better.

Thank you so much! to the fun!

Those photo pass pictures in GE are really cool! I haven't seen those before.

Thanks! Yeah, we have a bunch more that are videos as well. They really did a good job with the photopass in GE!

 

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The Circle of Flavors event looks like a lot of fun! I looked into booking it but it looks like the last night is October 23- the night before our trip!

It was so much fun! I definitely want to do it again. I hope the 23rd isn't the last night, fingers crossed they extend it!

Those photopass shots in SWGE are so cool! I need them all!

They have some really awesome shots there! They seem to have decided to not do too many "normal" shots in this land, which I love since we're getting some new shots now!

 

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Such a productive morning get to experience SWGE & TSL!! Sounds like it was a lot of fun!

Yeah, it was super productive. Walk-on rides and crazy short waits in the two newest lands? I'll take that! I wish they would keep the EEMH through next year too so we can take advantage of them during our next trip!

 

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What a great morning! Awesome that you got all of the cool pp shots! DH and I really wanted the 360 one but it was down during our trip!

It was such a fun morning! Bummer the 360 shot was down when you went, hopefully you get a chance to get that one soon! I think my favorite thing about that one is that it is very thinning, which frankly I needed this trip! HA!

 

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Day 2, Part 2: Another Round of Food Booths!

After leaving HS, we walked back over to the Boardwalk. Our original plan was to nap for a bit, but we figured we’d rather have a longer break later in the day instead of two short breaks, so instead we packed up our stuff and got ready to move over to the Yacht Club!

Our first stop was the front desk at the Boardwalk to check-out, and also let them know that our tub had not drained since we showered the previous night. Once that was taken care of, we dragged our luggage out to the boardwalk, and made our way over to the YC!

It was a pretty quick walk, and soon we were checking into our home resort!

Check-in turned into a bit of a cluster. I guess that a lot of guests had been having issues with their magic bands not working on their doors, so when we checked in, a manager came over during the process to check to see if ours would work. Unfortunately she realized that ours would not work, and it ended up being a pretty lengthy process to get it worked out, about 45 minutes! The manager did tell us that because it took so long that we would receive 3 anytime FP+, but we realized later that we never did receive them.

Anyways, the good news was, our room was ready. So even with the lengthy check-in, it was nice knowing that we could head up to our room right away and unpack a bit for the long part of our stay!

Once we got the magic band issue sorted out, we made our way up to our home for the night! We booked standard view this year, and that is exactly what we got! Our room looked out over the porte cochere, which I was worried would be annoying with the traffic below, but we never heard it! The room ended up being super quiet, we never heard our neighbors at night which has been a problem in the past! It was odd not looking out onto trees this year, our view for the last few years have just been of trees directly in front of the balcony!

After some time spent unpacking, we finally headed out to Epcot to catch our FP+ for Soarin!

We arrived at the IG around 10:20, and found the line for security not nearly as bad as the day prior. There was still a line, but it was only 3-4 people deep at each bag check, so not horrible (although still more than in pre-skyliner days when there was no one there that late in the morning!)

Once through we made our way into Epcot and quickly made our way to Soarin. We were surprised to see how crowded Epcot was that day, it was pretty packed for a Thursday morning!

We made our way to Soarin’ and walked right on. Once again we were row 3 on one of the sides. Since Soarin’ has opened we have never once been in the center, and only once have we been anything but row 3. Is it just bad luck on our part, or are FP+ people just given the shaft with this ride?!?!

After our distorted view flight, we headed out to do some shopping. I really wanted to pick up one of the final Illuminations Ornaments, but was surprised to find they were already sold out! So instead we wandered through Mouse Gear and ended up picking up some of the fun socks, the ones with the Disney dogs and the one with the Disney cats.

By the time we wrapped up in Mouse Gears, the food booths were about to open, so we headed out to get some food!

Our first stop was the eats area, which was surprisingly already packed with people! Last year right at 11:00 there was hardly anyone at the food booths (even on a Saturday morning), this year before 11:00 long lines had already formed! Blaming this on being there for the final Illuminations weekend. Epcot was by far more crowded than we have ever seen it during food and wine during the week.

Anyways, my mom saved us a table so I could do the running. I got both my mom and I the bass from the Coastal Eats booth along with the pinot gris, then ran out and grabbed the Salmon for myself from the Active Eats booth.




(Look at all that guac!!!)

The bass was good, but I preferred the salmon. They do the salmon really well here! I liked the version of the salmon better last year, but it was still delicious this year and I would definitely recommend! I think I would have liked the bass more without the tostada, or with maybe a soft taco? Something about the hard tostada was just off for me.

After finished up our food we made our way over to WS for some more goodies! Of course we stopped at the photopass photographers on the way!



Our next food booth was Islands of the Caribbean where I picked up the frozen mojito. This was great, it was the perfect drink for strolling around WS on such a hot day!



We continued around WS, searching for the hidden Remy’s as we went. Our next food booth we stopped at was Africa! I got the Kenyan Coffee Barbecue Beef Tenderloin here. I had read mixed reviews on this, but it sounded delicious so I had to try it.



I really liked this, but I think I got lucky and got a good cut of meat. The reviews I read all mentioned getting really fatty cuts, but mine wasn’t like that at all and I really loved it!

We also got lucky and found an elusive table with chairs AND an umbrella to eat at! I wish they had more of these set up during food and wine, it’s nice to sit and eat in the shade!

Once I finished my food, we made our way over to Italy! Here my mom picked up the Ravioli Carbonara and I got my favorite, the Italian Margarita!





The ravioli was really good, I would say it was one of the better pasta dishes this booth has done in recent years, and I loved the margarita as always!

By the time we finished at Italy we were both really full and ready for a break, so we made our way back to the YC. On the way back we saw the pool was practically empty, so decided to go for a dip! We ended up hanging out at the pool for about an hour, it was shockingly quiet down there, I’ve never seen it quite so empty! Guess everyone was in Epcot!

After our swim it was nap time, that early morning was catching up to us and we had a big night ahead!

NEXT UP: A Visit to Animal Kingdom Lodge! ​

 

[annie170]

Whenever I ride Soarin', I always ask for the front row center. I usually have to wait until the next ride through, but it's worth it. I've even told people in line that it's worth the wait so you don't get a distorted view.

My mouth is watering just looking at that tenderloin! Yum!

The Italian Margarita is my favorite too. I miss the ravioli from several years ago that was in a meaty sauce. That was really delicious.

You and your mom take such cute pictures together!

 

[Eeyore daily]

Sounds like you got a nice room at the Yacht Club. I don’t know what’s up with soarin. It seemed like you got way better views before the change and now it seems rare to get concourse B!
All that food looks amazing and makes me want to try even though I wouldn’t eat them normally .
Great photo with your mom!

 

[Cloe Colton]

Man the YCs MB issues have been going on for a while! Hopefully they get that fixed soon because that sounds like a nightmare.

My biggest complaint about F&W this year was that a lot of the tables didn't have shade. Like for some I understand because there's just no way for them to put up structures just to provide shade but I found it so infuriating in the area by Hawaii and Wine and Dine where they had the little structures built that offered like no shade unless you managed to hide in the little area the slats created. Like its cute but we need the shade so just put a full roof on it! lol Its like they went for style over substance on the F&W structures this year!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a great time at Epcot and a nice time enjoying the empty pool!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

(Look at all that guac!!!)

Yum! I love Guac!

That must have been a mess of a day for the YC with check in!

 

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Whenever I ride Soarin', I always ask for the front row center. I usually have to wait until the next ride through, but it's worth it. I've even told people in line that it's worth the wait so you don't get a distorted view.

I'm going to have to ask one of these years, would love to see the view from top center!

My mouth is watering just looking at that tenderloin! Yum!

It was so good!

The Italian Margarita is my favorite too. I miss the ravioli from several years ago that was in a meaty sauce. That was really delicious.

I've been trying to find the recipe for that margarita for a while now, so far can't find one that even comes close! I'm not sure I had that version of the ravioli, but it sounds good!

You and your mom take such cute pictures together!

Aw, thank you!

 

[NJlauren]

WOW that is way annoying at YC! I would be pretty annoyed that i didn't get my 3 anytime FP!

I must try this Frozen Mojito and Italian Margarita, this trip report has me in trouble for next week!

Now I need a break after reading about this marathon of a morning!!

 

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Sounds like you got a nice room at the Yacht Club. I don’t know what’s up with soarin. It seemed like you got way better views before the change and now it seems rare to get concourse B!

The room was great, especially love it when we have quiet neighbors!

All that food looks amazing and makes me want to try even though I wouldn’t eat them normally .

Haha! It's funny you say that, this year my goal was to try stuff I normally wouldn't get, and I was surprised how much I liked everything I tried!

Great photo with your mom!

Thank you!!

 

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Man the YCs MB issues have been going on for a while! Hopefully they get that fixed soon because that sounds like a nightmare.

Yeah, it's never a good sign if they have to verify magic bands will even work at check-in! At least we didn't get all the way to the room and find out, so I appreciate they're doing it, but it is concerning that this seems to be a pretty big problem!

My biggest complaint about F&W this year was that a lot of the tables didn't have shade. Like for some I understand because there's just no way for them to put up structures just to provide shade but I found it so infuriating in the area by Hawaii and Wine and Dine where they had the little structures built that offered like no shade unless you managed to hide in the little area the slats created. Like its cute but we need the shade so just put a full roof on it! lol Its like they went for style over substance on the F&W structures this year!

YES! They could have done something at the wine and dine area with stretched fabric instead of the pergolas, it would provide actual shade and still look good! This year we got really lucky and twice found tables with seats and umbrellas, I feel like we won the F&W lottery!

 

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Sounds like a great time at Epcot and a nice time enjoying the empty pool!!

Such a great morning at Epcot, and it's always a great surprise when the pool is empty. I found the pool is so hit or miss in September, there are days we head down and it's packed and we can't even find a single seat to put our stuff down, and then days where we are the only ones there!

 

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Yum! I love Guac!

Me too, I was so excited when I saw how much they were putting on!

That must have been a mess of a day for the YC with check in!

Yeah, I do appreciate that they checked before we walked all the way to our room, but still annoying that this is happening. I would think this would be an easy problem to fix....we didn't have any issues with the magic bands over at the Boardwalk!

 

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WOW that is way annoying at YC! I would be pretty annoyed that i didn't get my 3 anytime FP!

Yeah, it was a pain to start our stay there that way, and a bummer about the FP+. Although we were so busy this trip we didn't even realize we never received them until the end of the trip!

I must try this Frozen Mojito and Italian Margarita, this trip report has me in trouble for next week!

Haha! I highly recommend both. And they are perfectly spaced out in WS, so you can sip on one while making your way around, and once that runs out you'll be in the area of the next one! Hope you have a fantastic trip!

Now I need a break after reading about this marathon of a morning!!

Haha! We needed one too! At the end of the trip my mom reiterated that we NEED to stop doing so much each trip. Oops!

 

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Day 2, Part 3: A Visit to Animal Kingdom Lodge!

After a much-needed nap, we started getting ready for our next adventure! We were heading over to Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at Jiko! We ate there years ago, actually the year the lodge opened, and we loved it. We’ve been saying for years we need to go back, so it was finally time!

Our original reservation was at 6:30, but in the months leading up to the trip DAH at MK was released which fell on this night, and since we wanted to do that as well, I moved our dinner to 5:15.

Well, while we were at Epcot earlier in the day I realized we may want a longer nap, so I changed our reservation to 5:45 to give us more time to rest during the day. Turns out that wasn’t necessary, since we were ready to head over by around 4:00. Since we were ready so early, I went and changed our reservation back to 5:15.

My mom really wanted to go explore the hotel a bit before dinner, so I called for a Minnie Van a bit before 4, and soon we were on our way to AKL! We had a great driver, she loved Disney trivia and told us to ask her anything, she probably knew the answer! She did, but we probably didn’t ask very hard questions.

We arrived at AKL around 4:20. At first we strolled through the store, it’s seriously one of the nicest resort stores I’ve seen, it’s huge!

There wasn’t anything in the store that we wanted, so we next made our way out to the viewing area over the savanna.



There weren’t a lot of animals around at this point, but we did see a zebra, some antelope thingys (technical term of course), and some giraffes in the distance.

It was hot back there in the sun, and oddly the air felt really stagnant, so we didn’t stay for too long, but we did stop and sit in the rocking chairs back there around the fire pit since it was in the shade and such a nice relaxing place!

Around 5:40 I asked my mom if she would mind going to the Victoria Falls bar to get some water, I was getting crazy thirsty at that point! She agreed so we made our way inside.

We found some seats at the end of the bar and enjoyed some ice water while we waited for dinner. Since we were early, I went in and once again changed our reservation time, this time to 5:00!

At around 4:55 we made our way downstairs to hover around Jiko waiting for them to open. They opened a tad late, but when a CM saw us waiting, so invited us to come sit inside while they finished setting up.

Around 5:05 our server was ready and came over to fetch us and bring us to our table. We had a great seat right up against the window! Our server went through the menu a bit and talked about the oven and of course pointed out the not-so-hidden Mickey!

Soon the bread came out, and wow, this bread was amazing!



Apparently it’s super easy to make too, the server said it’s just oil, flour, tomatoes and cheese!

We normally don’t eat much of the bread at restaurants since we want to save room for dinner, but this was so good we devoured the whole thing! Oops!

Next up we got the scallop appetizer to share. This was also fantastic, and we loved using the bread to soak up all the extra sauce that came with it.


Sorry for the half eaten food photo...forgot to take pictures when this came out!

For our main course, my mom got the lamb and I got the filet mignon.





Look at that lamb! Oh my goodness, what a display!

We both loved our meals. I tried some of the lamb, and it was one of the best lamb dishes I’ve tried, the spices on it was amazing!

We had wanted to try the dessert that I believe was called the Kilimanjaro, but our server informed us they had JUST changed the dessert menu and it was no longer available. Whomp whomp.

Nothing else on the new dessert menu really interested us, and we knew we’d be getting lots of Mickey bars at DAH that night, so decided to just skip dessert.

After dinner we waddled our way to the bus stop to head over to the MK! We arrived at the bus stop at 6:28, and the display noted the MK bus would arrive at 6:29! What good timing right?

Haha, nope! That bus never arrived. We ended up waiting and waiting. Finally at 6:59 the bus arrived! Is this resort set up like the YC/BC where buses fill up at Kidani and then just skip Jambo house? I thought maybe that’s what happened since the bus that finally arrived was already pretty full.

While eating dinner I had grabbed us FP+ for Buzz at 7:20, so we figured we'd at least still make it in time for that!

Up Next: DAH at MK! ​